2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix Highlights

Max Verstappen bounced back from his retirement in Australia with a commanding drive to victory during the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, taking the chequered flag ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

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Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

I think once again today Formula 1 proved to be a very spectacular form of racing. On one of the most demanding tracks for drivers and cars, we witnessed a race with plenty of overtaking, where various strategies were brought into play, thanks in part to all three of the compounds we chose for this round being up to the job in hand. This allowed drivers to choose from different options, both in terms of switching compounds and in when to make the pit stops.

While it’s true that, once again, Red Bull and Max Verstappen had the edge, which allowed them to secure the win with relative ease, behind them, there were some great battles, not just on the track but also between the teams on the pit wall.

Today was the hottest day of the weekend, with a track temperature at the start of 40 °C which then dropped to 32 °C so thermal degradation was significant, and those who did the best job of managing it were able to make up various places from where they started: here I’m thinking chiefly of Leclerc who drove an exceptional race in this respect because his one and only stop saw him go from eighth to fourth. The undercut proved to be very effective, but it’s a fact that those who stopped too early were then at a disadvantage in the closing stages of each stint. All these variables created performance differences that facilitated overtaking, which was great for the spectators. Indeed, the fans that packed out Suzuka all weekend long really added to the show, and it was great to see them able to celebrate a tenth-place finish for local hero Yuki Tsunoda.

The day on the track:

For a start, there was a pretty even split between the 20 drivers in terms of those who opted for the Medium (all in the top ten except Alonso, plus Ricciardo, Tsunoda and Zhou) and those who went with the Soft. However, the red flag on the opening lap meant that seven drivers – the Mercedes and Alpine pairs, Sargeant, Tsunoda and Zhou – all took the opportunity to switch compounds. The Mercedes duo went from Medium to Hard, both Alpines and Sargeant in the Williams went from Soft to Medium, and Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Zhou (Sauber) went from Medium to Soft.

The restart meant the race was effectively shortened by two laps, with the original opening lap and the one to the grid for the second start still valid. Teams thus went for various strategic options both in terms of the number of pit stops and in their use of the available compounds. The most used was the C1 (545 laps, 60%), with the C2 next (281 laps, 31%) with little difference in terms of degradation. While the Hard and Medium were the most popular, the Soft (81 laps completed, 9% of the total) also had a role to play, either at the start or in the closing stages, despite demonstrating significant degradation.

What’s next?

The fifth round of the World Championship takes place in Shanghai from 19 to 21 April, with Formula 1 returning after a five-year break, 20 years after it first appeared on the calendar back in 2004. Shanghai hosts the first Grand Prix of the year to run in the new Sprint format (free practice and Sprint qualifying on Friday, Sprint Race and qualifying on Saturday, and the actual Grand Prix on Sunday). Pirelli has chosen three compounds from the middle of the range: C2 as Hard, C3 as Medium and C4 as Soft.

There is one more task before Shanghai. This coming Tuesday and Wednesday, Suzuka hosts the third Pirelli test session of the season, aimed at developing compounds and constructions for 2025. Sauber, running Valtteri Bottas on both days and Racing Bulls, running Daniel Ricciardo on the first day and Yuki Tsunoda on the second, will support the sport’s sole tyre supplier in this delicate and important task.

2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

2024 Constructor Standings

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

Max Verstappen added another pearl to his string of victories with a dominant performance at the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. This was the Dutchman’s third consecutive win at Suzuka, the 57th of his career. Sergio Perez ensured that Red Bull scored its third one-two finish of the season, its 31st in total.

Max Verstappen, Driver, Red Bull Racing

Today was simply lovely, and I really enjoyed the race. We stayed out of trouble on the first lap, and from there, we tried to look after the tyres as much as possible. We made the right calls before qualifying, which helped today, and it is very lovely to come back and win after Australia. The car just got better throughout the race, and although it took a few laps before I got a nice rhythm as we didn’t have many practices on the long runs, on the second stint, the car really came alive. I could push where I needed to, and I could look after my tyres well, so the race went really nicely. It was a great Team result the whole weekend, and brilliant to score a one-two here: our third of the season. Suzuka is always a great track to go racing at, and overall, I am pleased about the performance today.

Sergio Pérez, Driver, Red Bull Racing:

It was a good day for the Team. We had good pace today, we just struggled with the degradation initially and didn’t get enough out of the medium due to the balance and track temperature. We suffered a little on the first stint; it compromised our race a little too much, and Lando was pitting early. The second stint was better, but we had to get through a lot of traffic, which made our life a lot harder. On the hard, we were back to our best, but things were a little out of sync by then. What is positive and an improvement is that when we have issues like on the first stint, we are able to solve them during the race, which is something we lacked last year. We are in a good place and performing at a very nice level. We just need to keep progressing. My confidence is coming back, and the momentum should be with me for the coming races; if I am able to have such a consistent weekend in Suzuka, it can only be optimistic moving forward.

CHRISTIAN HORNER, CEO and Team Principal

It was an excellent Team performance today: the fastest lap, a one-two finish, the fastest pit stop and leading first and second in The Championship. So yeah, it’s a fantastic performance here and one we are very proud of, particularly in Japan at the home of our engine partner, Honda. Max managed to control the race beautifully. He was away from the beginning and really looked after the tyres. But Checo has had a very strong agenda here. His qualifying yesterday was good. Better than he has managed in his career. And then his racing was fantastic. He came through the field and was very strong and maintained his pace. A brilliant race across the board, from all the Team. It is great to see.

After the most challenging qualifying of the season so far, Scuderia Ferrari made up for it on Sunday in Japan, leaving Suzuka with a third place courtesy of Carlos Sainz, while Charles Leclerc fought his way up from eighth on the grid to fourth at the flag, a strong points haul confirming the team’s second place in the standings. Ferrari put its drivers on different strategies, aiming to bring home the best possible result. This was the team’s fifth podium finish in four races, including Carlos’ win in Australia.

Ferrari is now on 120 points, 21 behind the leaders Red Bull. That’s almost double the total after four races last year when the fourth round in Azerbaijan also included a Sprint. This is Sainz’s 21st podium, the third from the three races in which he has taken part this year. Charles was voted “Driver of the Day,” and the Scuderia drivers have won this accolade at every race so far this season.

Carlos Sainz #55

It was a good day for the whole team. We executed an excellent race and brought home many points, maximising our package’s potential. An intense couple of starts kept me in a good position, and from there onwards, we managed it perfectly with a very strong pace on both compounds and good overtakes to make the strategy work. We obviously want to fight a bit further up, but if we keep pushing like this, I’m sure we will have more opportunities. Now it’s back to the factory with the team, and starting tomorrow, we’ll start preparing for China.

Charles Leclerc #16

Looking just at today’s race, I’m pretty happy because there is nothing that we could have done better. Our pace, tyre management, communication and strategy were all really good. However, our qualifying yesterday was mostly what prevented us from getting a better overall result. Since Australia, we’ve had some difficulties putting the tyres in the right window on the out laps in qualifying, which is something we never struggled with before, so we really have to focus on that in the next few days to make sure we can put it all together in China.

Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal

Today, our team worked calmly and focusedly to achieve its goals. We made a real step forward over the winter, and the results can be seen on track. We had a very solid Sunday, securing the best result possible after a difficult qualifying yesterday, and that’s something we definitely have to work on.

The team did everything perfectly in the race, from strategy to tyre management. Both drivers did an excellent job in managing their respective strategies. With Carlos starting nearer the front, we could be more aggressive so that he could finish on a charge and pull off several great passing moves. We were a bit more limited with Charles, as he was down in eighth on the grid, but he drove an excellent first stint, so we were able to execute a one-stop strategy that meant he made up a lot of places. Looking at the result, it’s clear there is still room for improvement if we want to put Red Bull under pressure, and that’s what we’d like to do from the next round in China.

George Russell finished P7 and Lewis Hamilton P9 at the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.

The next race for the team is in two weeks’ time as we return to Shanghai and the Chinese Grand Prix for the first time in five years.

George Russell

We moved forward today, and that was positive. The plan to start on the Hard tyre after the red flag was to give us the flexibility to attempt either a one-stop or a two-stop. It was good to have this freedom, and ultimately, we ended up using the two-stop strategy as the one-stop strategy wasn’t working. We had a challenging opening stint, but after that first stop, our pace looked competitive compared to those ahead.

It was an exciting race towards the end. It’s always lovely to be attacking rather than defending, and it was good, hard racing. There was some contact with Oscar, which was a racing incident, but I was glad to get the position in the end. It’s close between the four teams behind Red Bull, and qualifying will be critical in each race. Whoever starts ahead will likely finish at the front of that pack. We know we’ve got work to do, and we will keep pushing. Hopefully, a track like the one in China will suit us better.

Lewis Hamilton

It was a difficult day today. I did my best, but the result wasn’t a good one. Unfortunately, that is where our car is at the moment. I didn’t feel great on the hard tyre, and I picked up a little bit of damage on the restart. I had lots of understeer, particularly during that first stint, which was why I decided to let George pass. Once we put on the Medium compound, it started to feel a little better. The final stint was the first time I felt like I had a good grip in the race.

We need to keep working hard, as today, our pace was likely only good enough for P6. If we want to move up the grid, then we will need to add more performance to the car.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

It was a difficult race today. Our second and third stints were quick and were similar to those ahead who were fighting for the podium. A poor first stint cost us today, though; we need to find out why that was. I feel our decision to restart the Hard tyres was the right one, and, in the beginning, our pace was stable with our direct competitors. We suddenly dropped one to two seconds a lap, though, and at the moment, it was clear that the tyres wouldn’t make the one-stop viable for us.

Overall, this weekend has been better than the final results suggest. We have lots to learn, and there is no track-relevant excuse we will use; we need to be quick at all circuits. But from what we’ve seen here, we can say that the car is becoming quicker. We will continue to work hard, and I am excited to head back to China in a few weeks after such a long absence from the calendar.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

It wasn’t an easy race today. We weren’t quick enough in qualifying, so we were starting too far back to challenge for the podium. Early in the race, our pace was simply not good enough too. We’d decided to go to the Hard tyre at the red flag as we felt there wasn’t much threat from behind, and it was our best way to offset and try something different. Towards the end of that stint, we really struggled with low grip. We couldn’t stop early as there was too much traffic in the window, so we stayed out until we had cleared it. Unfortunately, by then, we had lost a chunk of time.

The second and third stints were more encouraging, but we’d lost too much time by that point to get back into the mix. We know that we are not quick enough at the moment, so we will continue to work hard to improve that. Despite the challenging result, it has been a helpful weekend to learn more about our car and develop our understanding of the W15.

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.

Lando Norris

It was a tough race! We gave it a good try, but we just didn’t have enough pace today, so trying to cover and stay ahead of the Ferraris was challenging. I think we still did a good job and maximised the points, but starting third and finishing fifth is never the nicest thing to happen. It’s the maximum of what we could achieve today, though, so I think we have to be happy with it as much as it doesn’t feel like a great result.

Oscar Piastri

It was a difficult afternoon. Things didn’t quite click into place, and we weren’t fighting for the positions we wanted. However, it’s four-point finishes on the bounce this year, and there’s plenty to take away and try to learn from. We’ll return to the factory and turn our attention to China, where we’ll look to secure more valuable points for the team.

Andrea Stella

Overall, it’s a positive outcome to the race here in Suzuka in terms of scoring valuable points with both cars. Obviously, after a strong qualifying, we could have hoped for trying to consolidate a podium finish, but it wasn’t on the cards in terms of car performance today. I think, if we look at the classification, at least for the first five, it’s in competitiveness order. We tried to go for a podium with Lando, stopping early and ensuring we stayed ahead of Carlos, but ultimately, we didn’t have the pace. It also meant that we found ourselves on a slightly slower strategy, and we finished behind Leclerc. But we are happy that we are pushing for podium finishes even if today it was out of our grasp.

On Oscar’s side, it was a busy race for him, always in direct competition with some cars around him. It was a little bit of a shame with the final lock-up at the chicane, which cost him the position to Russell, but it was an essential point for the team today, consolidating the third position in the Championship. Now we refocus, and we look ahead to China.

Fernando Alonso achieved a point finish at the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, while Lance Strollgained positions throughout the race with a series of good overtakes.

The team achieved another points finish after Fernando classified in P6 while Lance finished P12. Drivers used different strategies to complete their races at Suzuka Circuit, with Lance on a three-stop while Fernando had a two-stop race. Lance initially started on Mediums from P16. Fernando, starting in fifth, opted for Softs.

After an opening lap red flag, Lance restarted the race on the Soft tyre before switching to Mediums and later Hards. He finished the race after heading back onto the Soft tyre. Meanwhile, Fernando restarted on Soft tyres and later used Mediums, followed by the Hard compound until the end of the race. Lance made a series of strong overtakes, resulting in him making up several places to finish the race in P12. In the closing stages, Fernando fended off the duelling pair of George Russell and Oscar Piastri to secure eight valuable points.

Fernando Alonso

It was a great weekend for me, as I had fifth place in qualifying yesterday and sixth place in the race. It was one of my best for a while. I think we slightly outperformed our actual position here this weekend, but we are executing our races very well this season and scoring good points for the team. Our plan for today worked well, and a special thanks for the pitstops, which were very impressive, so credit to all of the team for that. We still need to analyse our update package, so we’ll have a look at all our data from this weekend in Japan ahead of our return to Shanghai.

Lance Stroll

It was a difficult race today. Starting from P16 meant we had a compromised strategy and struggled to find any clean air. We also lacked the straight-line speed we needed. I did make some good overtakes at Turn 6, though, so that made for some fun racing. We were hoping to catch Yuki [Tsunoda] for P10, but the soft tyres just didn’t have the grip towards the end of the race, so it was disappointing not to finish in the points. We’ll take these learnings into China in a couple of weeks’ time.

Mike Krack, Team Principal:

P6 was the best available to us today and a solid result. The updates we have brought seem to be a positive step, and we have been able to finish ahead of our nearest competitor, Mercedes, and come home with eight points. Fernando drove really well today, and the team executed flawless and consistent pitstops. With Lance, he was fighting with Tsunoda, who started six places ahead of him on the grid after Qualifying. He battled well and made some impressive overtakes in the Esses, but unfortunately, we couldn’t take the fight with him today. We have a short turnaround now back at the Campus, and we look forward to returning to Shanghai and having the first Sprint weekend of the season.

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber left the 2024 formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix with no points but renewed confidence in the team’s pace and performance. For large parts of the afternoon, Valtteri Bottas, one of the fastest cars in the chasing pack, was in strong contention for a top-ten finish for most of the race before eventually ending 14th. Meanwhile, Zhou, starting from the back, saw the potential of a good recovery drive, enabled by his strong pace, come to nought due to a technical issue with the drivetrain.

While the frustration of not turning a good performance into points remains, the team keeps progressing, driven by a solid upgrade programme and hard work both trackside and in Hinwil. It will aim to make a further step towards the points in Shanghai.

Valtteri Bottas

Our pace overall looked quite strong today. This is the positive we can definitely take out of this race: it should have allowed us to finish higher than we did today – which confirms the step forward we have made in terms of performance thanks to the upgrades we have been bringing recently and the work done to refine our understanding of our package. Unfortunately, our potential for points was scuppered when we suffered the traffic at our second stop: we stopped with a group of other cars. It was not the most leisurely stop, and once I made it back out on track, I ended up being stuck behind Kevin [Magnussen] for most of the final laps. I am definitely disappointed, as we could have easily achieved more today and scored our first points of the season. Still, our race pace looked promising, and there was progress made both on and off the track. We can hope for a more robust performance in Shanghai: our priority remains to get more consistent execution across the whole board and fight for points in what is a highly tight pack. I am excited to be going back to China after a few years, and it’ll, of course, be a big one for us as a team and for Zhou – hopefully, we’ll be able to be back in the fight and put up a decent show and some points.

Zhou Guanyu

It has been a difficult weekend for me: unfortunately, we encountered some more minor issues over the weekend, from the reduced run time in FP3 that ultimately impacted my qualifying to a DNF in a race where I had the pace to make up some positions. I had a good start and first laps of the race before we noticed that we might have some technical problems and were informed to retire the car. While this is definitely not the start of the year that I hoped for, we keep working hard as we know things will improve: our overall pace looked good, and my focus now is on the preparation for my first home Grand Prix. With the team trackside and back at the factory, we’ll investigate our issues and work on them to be in a better position, so I’ll be fighting for points at home in China – in Saturday’s Sprint Race and the Race on Sunday.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative

After three races in which we were affected by issues at the pit stops, we can see some positive developments there, with four stops with no issues. Of course, right now, we are not looking at maximising speed but rather the consistency and reliability of our stops, which is what happened today. We had to retire Zhou’s car due to a problem with the drivetrain, which the team is now investigating; it’s unfortunate as he had a strong start and good first laps, and even though he wasn’t directly in the fight for points at that stage, with his strong pace he would have been helpful for the team in terms of maximising the outcomes of our strategy. Valtteri had an excellent race, with two good starts and a severe shot at scoring: he was ahead of Tsunoda before the second stop, and Yuki went on to score points. Of course, we knew our current limitations, and we knew we would get back on track behind them, but we can take heart the fact that our race pace was matching him, if not better, even if eventually Valtteri ended up stuck behind Magnussen for the remainder for the race, and wasn’t in a position to attack him on the straights. As a team, we need to analyse all the data from this weekend: we keep finding better performance with each upgrade that comes from Hinwil, and we know we are going in the right direction. Development is going well, and the upgrades are working, and our pit stops are improving: we know that to score points this year, we’ll need to put everything together and that no details can be missed regarding execution, performance, and reliability, so we keep working hard. We now focus on two days of testing with Pirelli ahead of coming back more vital in Shanghai. We must retain our confidence: we are getting closer every race, and we see that our pace can be right there with our direct competitors.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg in 11th and Kevin Magnussen in 13th at Suzuka International Circuit.

Kevin Magnussen

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

Yuki Tsunoda was full of relief after scoring a point on home soil at the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix for the very first time. With back-to-back top-10 finishes now, the RB driver is enjoying a rich run of form.

Daniel Ricciardo

After yesterday, when we made some steps in the right direction, I was really excited to come racing today and have a good day. In these cases, a Lap 1 incident is one of the worst things that could happen to a driver, especially as you don’t really have the chance to do anything after the massive build-up and energy used to be prepared for the race. It was a shame and an unfortunate one for all of us involved. It was a racing incident, and luckily, Alex and I were okay after some checks. The start of the race was really poor as Yuki, and I were on medium tyres, and we were struggling so much compared to the other cars behind on the soft compound. In Turn 2, it settled a little bit, but I still felt like I was sliding and then saw an Aston on the outside of me. I was watching him, but when I was preparing to enter Turn 3, without using all the track as it was the first lap, Albon got alongside me and had a better exit from Turn 2. I didn’t see him, and we touched. This is racing sometimes and is part of it; there is not really anyone to blame; there was just a massive difference in terms of grip out of there. I’m sorry for the team, but China is soon, so we’ll focus on that.

Yuki Tsunoda

I’m feeling relieved. After I lost some positions on the first start, I felt a little disappointed, but at the same time, I just focused on the second start. I had a good one and was able to make up a few positions. One of the big highlights was the pitstop. Our mechanics did a fantastic job. It was such a fast pitstop that it allowed us to overtake two cars, which was insane! Without that, scoring points today would’ve been much more complex, so the team deserves enormous credit. So do the Japanese fans; they are great! Obviously, finally being able to score points in front of my home fans here and those who couldn’t make it to the track and watched it on TV makes me a very happy guy. I felt confident today. I knew our straight-line speed wasn’t that competitive compared to other cars, but at the same time, we knew we had a lot of downforce, and the only chance we had was through the esses, generally affected by downforce. It allowed me a couple of good overtakes, and I definitely enjoyed that. Regarding tyre management, I feel like my driving in today’s race was probably my best. I started my career here, and scoring points here is extraordinary. A big thank you to everyone at Honda, Red Bull and Visa Cash App RB who have been involved and supported me throughout my journey. I don’t feel like I scored P10 today, but P1 – it’s a great feeling.

Laurent Mekies – Team Principal

Great result for the team today. Yuki drove a fantastic, well-controlled race in front of his home crowd, managing his tyres and pushing hard when it mattered. There was some great overtaking, too, and not a foot wrong all weekend. He deserves the superb result of today. Daniel’s incident in the first lap was unfortunate. We were pretty exposed against our competitors behind us, who were mainly on soft tyres, and these things can happen. What is important is that both our drivers had great pace here, as demonstrated yesterday in qualifying. The team performed very well at extracting everything we could from our package this weekend, including a decisive high-pressure pit stop in the race and many difficult calls. It’s only one point for the championship, but it is a very important one, especially on a day when the top five teams have both cars finishing the race. A big well done to everyone in Faenza, Bicester, and our partner Honda. We know we need to keep pushing very hard in all areas to be able to keep topping the midfield, and it will be another completely new challenge for the sprint race in China in two weeks’ time.

Hopes were high for a fight up the field on Sunday in Suzuka at the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, but lousy fortune befell both drivers. Alex crashed out on the first lap, and Logan ran wide at Turn 9, depriving him of the chance to challenge for points late on.

Alex Albon

I didn’t have a great start, but being on the Hard tyres, I had good traction coming up into Turn 2. However, I don’t think Daniel [Ricciardo] saw me, and it was a bit of a pinching moment…

Logan Sargeant

Esteban started from P15 on New Softs and finished P15: Pit stops on Lap 19 for New Hards and lap 33 for New Mediums. His fastest lap was 1 min 36.232 secs.

Pierre started from P17 on New Softs and finished P16: Pit Stops on Lap 16 for New Hards and Lap 32 for New Hards. Fastest Lap: 1 min 37.505 secs.

Esteban Ocon

It was not an easy race today. We picked up some damage at the start, and after that, we tried different strategy options to give us a chance to fight. But, ultimately, we were not quick enough today to compete with those around us and keep them behind after the restart. It was unfortunate to pick up the damage. However, I do not think it made a massive difference to the overall picture of the race. We struggled with race pace compared to Qualifying, so we have a lot to review, and hopefully, we can come back stronger at the next race in Shanghai.

Pierre Gasly

Unfortunately, it’s been a long afternoon for us in Suzuka. There are some positives, including having two solid standing starts. At the second one, after the red flag, I overtook the Haas, then Esteban and then got myself alongside Yuki [Tsunoda]. At that point, I was sandwiched between both in an unfortunate racing incident. It meant I had significant damage to the floor – costing around 30 points of downforce – and, therefore, lap time as a result of the damage. From then on, it was a challenging race; there was not much we could do other than push as hard as possible. It’s not where we want to be, but it’s good that we brought the first upgrades to the car this weekend. We have to keep developing the concept and keep bringing parts as soon as possible as we need them in order to improve our current position.

Bruno Famin – Team Principal

Our race was compromised by the damage sustained to both cars at the second standing start in a racing incident. Both cars suffered significant losses in downforce, which cost us performance and lap time. Even so, we lack pace, and we must keep improving in all areas and bringing upgrades to the car.